Movies That Were Box Office Disasters, In Honor of ‘After Earth’

Movie #4 – Heaven’s Gate

Year – 1980

The 1970s was the era of the director. Renegades like Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski and Francis Ford Coppola took the industry by storm. There were others of course. But those are the names that casual moviegoer are most likely to recognize. They introduced new subject matter and a level of realism previously unseen in studio films. They didn’t shy away from edgier material and didn’t feel the need to ensure that the hero had a happy ending – or was even truly a “hero” for that matter. It was a second Golden Age of film that gave us movies like Chinatown, Taxi Driver and The Godfather. But Michael Cimino stopped all that.

In 1978 he directed The Deer Hunter. He was difficult to work with. He constantly ignored studio notes. He had conflicts with his editor and co-writer over credit. He went over budget, over schedule and turned in a film that was 30-minutes longer than the studio wanted. Also, it was a huge hit, received eight Academy Award nominations and won five including Best Supporting Actor, Best Director and Best Picture.

So when he started work on his next picture the suits at the studio figured the dude was a genius and they should probably just shut their collective pie-holes and sign the checks. And what did they get for their money? A five hour and twenty minute meandering mess of a movie that had almost quadrupled its original budget.

Cimino would eventually edit the film down to three hours and thirty-nine minutes. After a disastrous one-week theatrical run he would again edit the film; this time down to two hours and twenty-nine minutes. Most people’s opinion of the film revolves around which version they’ve seen. In 2012 the film was rereleased in a three hour and thirty-six minute version and received wide acclaim. But that’s kind of like going back to high school and rewriting a term paper. Sure it’s better, but you’ve already gotten your grade, kid.